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Hello,

I just updated my player and it seems to stutter when playing AVI files. This has happened occasionally before but now it is happening regularly every minute or so. I tried to reset preferences and cache (not that I set anything since updating) but that didn't help anything. I searched a bit around but couldn't find any solutions. Anything I can do? Your help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

yikes, meant to add that it seems to play Video_TS files just fine

Could you provide information on your environment (OS version, machine).

I'm running an iMac MB418D (OSX Leopard) Hope that helps! Thanks!!

Could you try clearing the preferences and see if that helps?

same here since 1.0 RC. appears to happen with xvid encoded avi files only. both audio/video freeze for a split second (maybe 0.2 sec) then continues. occurs randomly and can't duplicate at the same spot in the video. reverting back to 0.9.8a resolves the issue. i haven't tried 0.9.9 so i don't know if the problem existed with that version.

here's part of the message log, but i'm not sure if it's related to this issue since there's no timestamp:
main warning: PTS is out of range (-21589), dropping buffer
mpgatofixed32 debug: libmad error: bad main_data_begin pointer
main warning: the mixer got a packet in the past (114271)
main warning: the mixer got a packet in the past (90271)
main warning: the mixer got a packet in the past (66271)
main warning: the mixer got a packet in the past (42271)
main warning: the mixer got a packet in the past (18271)
main warning: mixer start isn't output start (7016)
main warning: late picture skipped (2152 > -1132)
main warning: computed PTS is out of range (1623566), clearing out
main warning: PTS is out of range (1623671), dropping buffer
main warning: output PTS is out of range (1632077), clearing out
main warning: PTS is out of range (1599698), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (1576186), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (1552208), dropping buffer
main warning: late picture skipped (1689545 > -1099)
main warning: PTS is out of range (1529209), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (1505233), dropping buffer
main warning: late picture skipped (1657572 > -1099)
main warning: PTS is out of range (1482470), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (1458493), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (1434508), dropping buffer
main warning: late picture skipped (1625382 > -1099)
main warning: late picture skipped (1593871 > -1120)
main warning: PTS is out of range (1413177), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (1389205), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (1366481), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (1342506), dropping buffer
main warning: late picture skipped (1562140 > -1120)
main warning: PTS is out of range (1319570), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (1295593), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (1271608), dropping buffer
main warning: late picture skipped (1529987 > -1120)
main warning: PTS is out of range (1249181), dropping buffer
main warning: late picture skipped (1498037 > -1120)
main warning: PTS is out of range (1228937), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (1204966), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (1180982), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (1156998), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (1134603), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (1110657), dropping buffer
main warning: late picture skipped (1470646 > -1145)
main warning: late picture skipped (1437279 > -1145)
main warning: PTS is out of range (1087893), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (1063915), dropping buffer
main warning: late picture skipped (1405854 > -1145)
main warning: late picture skipped (1373913 > -1145)
main warning: PTS is out of range (1043258), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (1019282), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (995297), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (971312), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (947326), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (923341), dropping buffer
main warning: late picture skipped (1341662 > -1145)
main warning: PTS is out of range (902476), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (878505), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (855371), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (832322), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (808369), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (785540), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (762536), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (739513), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (715537), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (694306), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (671387), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (647412), dropping buffer
main warning: late picture skipped (1286622 > -1217)
main warning: late picture skipped (1319989 > -1217)
main warning: PTS is out of range (624667), dropping buffer
main warning: late picture skipped (1254766 > -1217)
main warning: PTS is out of range (601965), dropping buffer
main warning: late picture skipped (1223014 > -1217)
main warning: PTS is out of range (578908), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (554932), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (531752), dropping buffer
main warning: late picture skipped (1191143 > -1217)
main warning: PTS is out of range (511748), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (488696), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (464723), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (441806), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (419217), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (396560), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (372584), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (349526), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (327959), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (303985), dropping buffer
main warning: late picture skipped (1170340 > -1214)
main warning: PTS is out of range (280966), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (256988), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (233831), dropping buffer
main warning: late picture skipped (1139803 > -1214)
main warning: PTS is out of range (211757), dropping buffer
main warning: late picture skipped (1107847 > -1214)
main warning: PTS is out of range (189432), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (165455), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (142325), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (122732), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (99831), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (75857), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (52786), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (29949), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (7465), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (-16508), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (-39109), dropping buffer
main warning: late picture skipped (1086677 > -1192)
main warning: late picture skipped (1054643 > -1192)
mpgatofixed32 debug: libmad error: Huffman data overrun
main warning: late picture skipped (1037187 > -1273)
main warning: late picture skipped (1004899 > -1273)
main warning: late picture skipped (972481 > -1273)
main warning: late picture skipped (940210 > -1273)
main warning: late picture skipped (919836 > -1238)
main warning: late picture skipped (886470 > -1238)
main warning: late picture skipped (854612 > -1238)
main warning: late picture skipped (822255 > -1238)
main warning: output date isn't PTS date, requesting resampling (-40037)
main warning: late picture skipped (769077 > -1228)
main warning: late picture skipped (802443 > -1228)
main warning: late picture skipped (737038 > -1228)
main warning: late picture skipped (704876 > -1228)
main warning: late picture skipped (672660 > -1228)
main warning: late picture skipped (640246 > -1228)
main warning: buffer is 40037 in advance, triggering downsampling
main warning: late picture skipped (586100 > -1204)
main warning: late picture skipped (619466 > -1204)
main warning: late picture skipped (553778 > -1204)
main warning: late picture skipped (521339 > -1204)
main warning: late picture skipped (489142 > -1204)
main warning: late picture skipped (469591 > -1198)
main warning: late picture skipped (436225 > -1198)
main warning: late picture skipped (404995 > -1198)
main warning: late picture skipped (372601 > -1198)
main warning: late picture skipped (352763 > -1273)
main warning: late picture skipped (321829 > -1273)
main warning: late picture skipped (289664 > -1273)
main warning: late picture skipped (270329 > -1236)
main warning: late picture skipped (253660 > -1242)
main warning: late picture skipped (221889 > -1242)
main warning: late picture skipped (189891 > -1242)
main warning: late picture skipped (168300 > -1483)
main warning: late picture skipped (136598 > -1483)
main warning: late picture skipped (105675 > -1483)
main warning: late picture skipped (85783 > -1649)
main warning: late picture skipped (53704 > -1649)
main warning: late picture skipped (21507 > -1649)
main warning: late picture skipped (1567 > -1537)
main debug: control type=1

I think my problem has to do with the internet. Now it is much better but are there settings I should/can adjust that would stop this from happening. It seems at the time that the internet was having trouble loading pages. Not understanding why they would be connected.

i appear to have isolated the error that's causing the stutter for me:

mpgatofixed32 debug: libmad error: Huffman data overrun
main warning: mixer start isn't output start (-2705)
main warning: PTS is out of range (-38989), dropping buffer
mpgatofixed32 debug: libmad error: Huffman data overrun

look in your messages window (command+shift+M) and see if you are getting the same libmad error.

Here is a bit of what is showing in mine:

mpgatofixed32 debug: libmad error: bad main_data_begin pointer
main warning: late picture skipped (96853 > -2065)
main warning: late picture skipped (56913 > -2065)
main warning: late picture skipped (17056 > -1652)
main warning: output date isn't PTS date, requesting resampling (-41986)
main warning: buffer is 41986 in advance, triggering downsampling
main debug: looking for xml module: 2 candidates
main debug: using xml module "xml"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 0.144 ms - Total 0.144 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 0.144 ms)
main debug: removing module "xml"
main debug: looking for xml module: 2 candidates
main debug: using xml module "xml"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 0.145 ms - Total 0.145 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 0.145 ms)
main debug: removing module "xml"
main debug: control type=1

Tried the 1.0 and got the same stuttering regardless of file size and format - it stutters every 2-3 minutes and the image freezes for 5-6 seconds . Tried to fix it by erasing the preferences - still the same problem

Since my experience with vlc over the years has teached me that new versions tend to be buggy at first , I always back up the old one .
Never had that problem with 0.9.9 so I'll stick to it till a stable 1.0.x comes out

ps
It's not cpu related - when playing large .mkv it uses at max 40% of one of my 2 cores and on stuttering that doesn't change

10.5.7

For what it's worth, I am also seeing this issue. Is there bug tracker for VLC that we can submit to?

Hi Guys,

My VLC player stutters in 1.0 but in the last 2 versions as well... tried them too

I thought it was a codec missing and I updated all but no result there..
I've tried all sorts of formats and the problem doesn't seem to be .avi solely..

debug log says: more than 5 seconds of late video -> dropping frame (computer too slow ?)
But this is a brand new iMac 24 3.06 Ghz so computer being to slow with no other programs running seems very unlikely since it has always worked like a charm on previous mac's..

It also says:
main debug: removing module "xml"
main debug: looking for xml module: 2 candidates
main debug: using xml module "xml"

computed PTS is out of range (509853), clearing out
main warning: PTS is out of range (509996), dropping buffer
main warning: output PTS is out of range (510003), clearing out
main warning: PTS is out of range (483889), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (457774), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (431660), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (405544), dropping buffer
main warning: late picture skipped (541574 > -465)
main warning: late picture skipped (502005 > -465)
main warning: late picture skipped (462590 > -418)

I am playing files that are located on my computer (not on an extern drive but really on my mac), so it can't be caused by Internet-connection problems either..

The dropping buffer seems to hit the hardest when the log continues..
In the last few years, VLC has always been my friend with all sorts of video formats, friends & family dropped in my mailbox to see if I could find a way to view material that came from all different kinds of video cams etc. Never had one file that VLC couldn't play or jittering, stuttering etc..

I am looking the web for a version that is older than 0.9.7 to see if I still have the same problem than but..

If anyone out there wants my help in logging the mac osx trouble in order to solve the problem, please contact me, I am not a developer but I can help testing different settings & confirm results..

I am having the same problems with 1.0 on my new Mac mini (Geforce 9400).

Getting the same PTS out of range errors and libmad errors. This is mostly fine (rare skips) when running from the HDD.

BUT, I recorded some avis to a disc (DVD) and playing back from that is awful. Movies now skip/freeze every couple of seconds and are unwatchable.

I know the disc is fine, it plays OK in Quicktime.

main warning: PTS is out of range (-37204), dropping buffer
main warning: late picture skipped (849824 > -1175)
mpgatofixed32 debug: libmad error: bad main_data_begin pointer
main warning: late picture skipped (829937 > -1222)

the libmad error seems to be pretty consistent with the stutter.

I noticed that increasing the player's priority reduces the duration of the stutters a lot

We have two Macbooks (running 10.5.7) experiencing the same problem when playing avi files. The message log looks like the one posted by snix up top.

I never saw the problem before upgrading to 1.0....I think I was using 8.6h before.

Btw, if anyone (macnikki) is looking for older versions, try http://downloads.videolan.org/pub/vlc/.

Do any of you experiencing the issues have a short video file you can provide as a test sample?

You can try this file:

http://www.ode2.com/files/spinning_cube_big.avi

It runs fine in VLC 1.0 from HDD. Once burned to DVD and played back in VLC 1.0, it freezes completely after a few seconds and shows many PTS is out of range errors.

Quicktime plays the file fine from the DVD.

Tried to increase buffering yet? Have a look at "Caching" in Input & Codecs in VLC's preferences.

Did not do anything. Playing back from the DVD freezes quite fast.

I've also been getting this issue since moving to 1.0.0 (iMac, 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB DDR2, OS X 10.5.7) - not just with video files but also audio files.

Here're the complete gory details of starting up the smallest MP3 I can find that has this issue repeatably:
..and here's that last bit again from a different play-through of the same file:
When I went and fiddled with the preferences relating to caching (Input / Codecs > Access modules > File) and bumped it from 300ms of cache to 3000ms all but these first few errors vanished:
..and the remainder of the track played without skipping.

A copy of the file can be found at http://www.growf.org/stuff/player_stutters.mp3 [4.78MB] (VLC developers only, please!).

I am also experiencing the "PTS is out of range" issue with VLC 1.0.0 on Mac OS X 10.5.7. Audio and video files of all types are choppy. I find that this issue occurs more frequently whenever there is some hard disk activity.

VLC was never this choppy until I upgraded to 1.0.0...

stutters here too : Macbook Pro, OS 10.5.5

As I have pointed out in another thread, I am encountering the same issue. This is encountered on an out of the box Mac Pro 2.93Ghz Quad (2009 generation) 8Gb memory & HD 4870. Not sure what the issue is, but it seems related to the speed at which the data is read by VLC. Tuning settings I have been able to view local files with minimal skipping (PTS and Late Picture Skipped) errors. They still occur. My disk monitor shows about 4.6gb p/s on local drive reads. Over the Gigabit LAN it is not viewable with loads of PTS and Late Picture Skipped errors.

I've tried upping the cache sizes to crazy values which does not help. I've gone back to v0.8.6 where it only got worse (black screen / total freeze). Presently I have the nightly build from about 2 days back. Works the same as 1.0RC. On my CPU monitor it appears to be splitting loads between the cores with an average usage of under 50% between 4 cores. I've uninstalled Perian to be safe. When I install MPlayer Extended the clip plays but at approximately 50% normal play rate (slow motion).

These are Sony SR11 camcorder MTS output files. I am able to convert them through RevolverHD fine. At a loss here

As I didn't include my log in last post, here it is... Maybe there's some hidden gem in here I cannot see:

using video output module "opengl"
TIMER module_need() : 130.595 ms - Total 130.595 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 130.595 ms)
main debug: Deinterlacing available
main debug: got 1 direct buffer(s)
main debug: pic render sz 1920x1080, of (0,0), vsz 1920x1080, 4cc I420, ar 16:9, sar 1:1, msk r0x0 g0x0 b0x0
main debug: pic in sz 1920x1080, of (0,0), vsz 1920x1080, 4cc I420, ar 16:9, sar 1:1, msk r0x0 g0x0 b0x0
main debug: pic out sz 1920x1080, of (0,0), vsz 1920x1080, 4cc UYVY, ar 16:9, sar 1:1, msk r0x0 g0x0 b0x0
main debug: looking for video filter2 module: 17 candidates
main debug: using video filter2 module "i420_yuy2_mmx"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 0.151 ms - Total 0.151 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 0.151 ms)
main debug: indirect render, mapping render pictures 0-15 to system pictures 1-16
main debug: End of video preroll
main debug: Received first picture
auhal debug: current format is: [44100][mcpl][41][4][1][4][2][32]
auhal debug: layout of AUHAL has 2 channels
auhal debug: selected 2 physical channels for device output
auhal debug: VLC will output: Stereo
auhal debug: we set the AU format: [48000][mcpl][9][8][1][8][2][32]
auhal debug: the actual set AU format is [48000][mcpl][9][8][1][8][2][32]
main debug: using audio output module "auhal"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 371.916 ms - Total 371.916 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 371.916 ms)
main debug: output 'fl32' 48000 Hz Stereo frame=1 samples/8 bytes
main debug: mixer 'fl32' 48000 Hz Stereo frame=1 samples/8 bytes
main debug: no need for any filter
main debug: looking for audio mixer module: 3 candidates
main debug: using audio mixer module "float32_mixer"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 0.789 ms - Total 0.789 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 0.789 ms)
main debug: input 'a52 ' 48000 Hz 3F2R/LFE frame=1536 samples/1792 bytes
main debug: looking for audio filter module: 1 candidate
scaletempo warning: bad input or output format
scaletempo warning: input and output formats are not similar
main warning: no audio filter module matching "scaletempo" could be loaded
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 0.854 ms - Total 0.854 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 0.854 ms)
main debug: looking for audio filter module: 1 candidate
scaletempo debug: format: 48000 rate, 6 nch, 4 bps, fl32
scaletempo debug: params: 30 stride, 0.200 overlap, 14 search
scaletempo debug: 1.000 scale, 1440.000 stride_in, 1440 stride_out, 1152 standing, 288 overlap, 672 search, 2400 queue, fl32 mode
main debug: using audio filter module "scaletempo"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 0.845 ms - Total 0.845 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 0.845 ms)
main debug: filter(s) 'a52 '->'fl32' 48000 Hz->48000 Hz 3F2R/LFE->3F2R/LFE
main debug: looking for audio filter module: 24 candidates
main debug: using audio filter module "a52tofloat32"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 1.550 ms - Total 1.550 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 1.550 ms)
main debug: found a filter for the whole conversion
main debug: filter(s) 'fl32'->'fl32' 48000 Hz->48000 Hz 3F2R/LFE->Stereo
main debug: looking for audio filter module: 24 candidates
main debug: using audio filter module "simple_channel_mixer"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 22.688 ms - Total 22.688 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 22.688 ms)
main debug: found a filter for the whole conversion
main debug: filter(s) 'fl32'->'fl32' 52800 Hz->48000 Hz Stereo->Stereo
main debug: looking for audio filter module: 24 candidates
main debug: using audio filter module "bandlimited_resampler"
main debug: TIMER module_need() : 0.196 ms - Total 0.196 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 0.196 ms)
main debug: found a filter for the whole conversion
main debug: End of audio preroll
macosx debug: chosen screen isn't present, using current screen for fullscreen mode
main debug: Post-processing available
main debug: Decoder buffering done in 1181 ms
main warning: PTS is out of range (-15006), dropping buffer
main warning: output PTS is out of range (6348), clearing out
main warning: input PTS is out of range (17020), trashing
main warning: computed PTS is out of range (18323), clearing out
main warning: PTS is out of range (-13655), dropping buffer
main warning: PTS is out of range (-38374), dropping buffer
main debug: audio output is starving (50015), playing silence
main warning: late picture skipped (11102 > -3943)
main warning: late picture skipped (41826 > -3824)
main warning: late picture skipped (42698 > -3824)
main warning: late picture skipped (56908 > -4620)

Truncated it here, as the rest is pretty much a continuation of "late picture skipped" with an occasional PTS error. I've got the file cache at 500ms. Any higher than this goes from no difference to detrimental. Below this increases the error counts. With my current settings I am able to get about 8 seconds of video playing before it starts to stutter, at that point its all down hill.

Hey,

I have been seeing this issue since the first 0.9.9 build I tried. This is not the first time this is posted on this forum but I don't know about a definitive solution.
The solution that works for me is increasing the cache value to 1000 ms (just play around with the value until you find the correct one for you).

To set the cache value:

• - Open preferences (and select "All" so you see all settings).
  - Go to Input/Codecs > Access modules > File
  - Increase the value.

I hope this works for you all!

Sjoekie

ps this will increase the delay between you hitting the pauze button and vlc reacting.

I have the same problem here too. I cleaned the preferences and still have the problem.

It even happens with mp3 files. It chirps ever 40 or 50 seconds and it's very annoying.

MacBook Pro, 2.4 GHz, 4 GB of RAM, nVidia 8600m GT 256 MB, Mac OS 10.5.7.

Edit: Sjoekie's workaround did make things a lot better =)